Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運), the nation’s second-largest container shipper in terms of fleet scale, yesterday launched the service of its first 14,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEU) vessel in Kaohsiung Harbor.
The YM Wish (登明輪) is currently the largest container ship in its fleet, with the company set to take delivery of another 14 vessels by the end of next year through a lease deal inked with Seaspan Corp — a Canada-based independent container ship owner.
“The introduction of these new vessels will help the company upgrade its fleet,” Yang Ming chairman Frank Lu (盧峰海) told reporters at a ceremony to mark the ship’s maiden voyage.
Photo: Wang Yi-hung, Taipei Times
With lower operational costs and more efficient energy usage, the 15 new vessels could help the company save up to NT$6 billion (US$191.98 million) annually in the future, with total savings this year expected to reach NT$2 billion, Lu said.
In addition, Lu said the new vessels, which would offer services for routes from the Far East to Europe, could give Yang Ming an edge in the highly competitive ultra-large vessel market.
After the new vessels join the shipper’s fleet, Yang Ming might transfer several 8,000-TEU container ships operating in European routes to US routes, to boost the company’s competitiveness in the US market.
Asked if the company is expecting record-high profits in the first three months of the year given low global crude oil prices, Lo said he was not certain.
Longer term, he said that freight rates and fleet expansion in the container shipping sector, which is expected to continue to outpace demand this year, could affect the company’s profitability, Lu said.
Analysts generally expect Yang Ming to post stronger net profits in the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter last year, mainly due to much lower oil costs. Yang Ming could also strong profit growth for the full year because of cost-savings, they said.
Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) said in its latest report that Yang Ming would post earnings per share (EPS) of NT$0.63 in the first quarter, compared with a loss per share of NT$0.49 in the same period last year. That would also be significant improvement from EPS of NT$0.11 in the final quarter of last year.
The company reported sales of NT$33.15 billion in the first three months of the year, up 17.4 percent from a year earlier.
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